Out of The Easy

Josie Moraine, the 17 year old daughter of a harlett, cleans a brothel while living above her employer's bookshop. She dares to dream of a better life, attending Smith College and leaving behind New Orleans' seedy underworld. Caught in the middle of a mysterious murder investigation, Jo's allegiance to her trollep mother, friends, and Willie (the madam who has been more of a mother-figure) is called into question. She must make difficult decisions, putting her in precarious situations in hopes of escaping with her innocence and livliehood.

This YA novel is a wonderful ride through resourceful and bright, Josie, Jo, Josephine's tale. Interesting, entertaining, and just dangerous enough to appeal to adults and no curse words or explicit sex to recommend to my daughter. Wonderful, straight forward writing style. Will definitely check out her first book, Between Shades of Gray.

I loved the characters, each had it's own accent, it's own story.

The story captured so much more than 1950's New Orleans. It captured a coming of age girl in a rough situation, it captured first loves and first pains.

The accents were beautifully done! I loved her interpretation of Willie and Jesse.

When listening to the book, I sometimes played back passages, to appreciate the descriptive language & details. At some points I was very plot-focused, and intent on finding out the next step in character dialogue and actions. Knowing the outcome of the plot now,I would listen again, to have a greater understanding of the writer's craft. I want to encourage anyone who reads this book to listen to Ms. Sepety's discussion of the research and writing process, an unadvertised feature after the music that concludes reading of the novel.

Hearing a book read out loud is a true test of its quality, as you want to savor every word in a good novel. I only listened to this book when I didn't have any distractions. For most books, I can do the equivalent of skimming, and drive or accomplish some housework. I am an adult, and I think this book stands on its own as an adult read.

This novel offers an intimate (but not sexually explicit!) view into the struggles of rich and poor, living in New Orleans in the 1950s. We gain insight into the idiosyncratic culture of New Orleans, class distinctions in the south & northeast, and the struggles of women trying to be independent before the women's lib movement. We understand the complexity of each character, driving his or her motivations for acts of acts of selfishness & generosity. The author's description of New Orleans and many other historical details weaved throughout the story are fascinating.

The colorful characters and dialog are a real strength of the novel, and the reader captures the dialect and personality of each character. The reader sounds like a 17-year old girl, which is the narrator's age. Yet she seamlessly switches between the characters. Josie's emotional development, in environment of hardship/social shame, is unique-- but not in gimmicky way.

This is my first Lauren Fortgang read.

Won't say, as I've tried not to include spoilers!

Do not be put off by the concept of the brothel. The book feels like a 1950s classic, as the narrator is more aware of sexual & criminal baseness than most other girls of her age, but she doesn't see behind closed doors. Fans of The Help may want to read this book. While classifying in a genre & comparing to another book is too simplistic, Out of the Easy is a coming-of-age story in the same era. Through the 17 year-old girl's search for her adult identity, we gain insight into the social complexities of an era.

I have listened to hundreds of audiobooks, and I have given only a few a triple five-star rating.